In general, this invention relates to microwave baking of brown and serve products, and more particularly to the application of microwave energy for the baking of brown and serve rolls.
Since microwave energy is known to have the ability to heat many food materials, most usually without the high heat on the surface needed for browning, the brown and serve product and the microwave process would seem most perfectly suited to one another. Under current production methods, brown and serve rolls are baked in a low temperature oven for 20 minutes with temperatures of the various zones ranging from 200.degree. to 290.degree. F. By comparison, fully baked rolls of the same size are baked for only 11 minutes in temperatures ranging from 380.degree. to 410.degree. F. The much longer bake times for brown and serve rolls coupled with the time lags required to cool down and later reheat the ovens make the current process a very inefficient and burdensome operation.
In a typical year, a large commercial bakery will produce approximately 18 million pounds of brown and serve rolls. Considering all of the factors, along with the possibility of extending shelf life through retardation of mold growth with microwaves, a process of microwave baking of brown and serve rolls is important to both industry and consumer.